Five Generations| Family by Erin Kent Photography| Jacksonville, NC Photographer

Good morning! It is Friday! And, you know what I just noticed? I had blogs scheduled and never actually scheduled them in my website. So, there's that. And, life has been so nuts lately that it totally slipped by me. Hey, there's no better time than too late, right? Is it just me or is this everyone's lives? I have spurts of peacefulness and calm and then it's like someone clicks the "Go" switch and everything blows up and goes nuts! Am I the only one on this hamster wheel?

I have been making steps in my life to simplify. I'm making lists and prioritizing. I've been ruling out unimportant stressors and things that take too much of my time. I'm making the steps toward drastically limiting internet time (minus the time I market on the business page), cutting back on the need to go out and "do" and focusing more on what happens at home. I'm tired and I'm worn from all of the bad news and negativity. It's not naivety that I'm seeking, just less involvement mentally and emotionally. Let's face it. It's hard to do. All of these technological tools are at arms reach for us at any given moment. It's all too easy and too convenient! I have a whole other blog post about this coming, so I won't take too much of your time here, discussing that. :)

On to the topic of the hour, the Brown-Smith-Parker-Morton families. Oh my, how I love these girls. From the time my mother was pregnant with me, she and my "Aunt" Kim were friends, attending the same church and making memories together. As our families grew, they meshed together and to say that the Parker girls and the Powell girls spent a lot of time together is an understatement. Summers were spent living between each others houses, swimming in the pool, running barefoot in the yard, staying up too late at sleepovers, making muffins for breakfast in the kitchen and getting ourselves into trouble on more than one occasion. These girls are my longest friendship relationships and they are lifetime friendships. We see things the same way, we do things the same way. It is a sweet, sweet fellowship.

We were ushered into their family and them, into ours. Because of this, I've had the honor of knowing their grandparents and great grandparents and I've fallen in love with them just as deeply over the course of my life.

When the girls came to me and mentioned this idea for a photo session, my wheels started spinning. I was honored to have been asked and so appreciative that such a special task had been handed to me.

On the night of the photo session, we took a trip out to Pink Hill to take photos in and around PawPaw Brown's church. It was a sweet time in the sanctuary as everyone shared fond memories. Pieces of their history as a family lace the images: PawPaw's fiddle and his old Bible, filled with highlighted Scriptures and notes. The ladies all gathered around the piano as their voices, in perfect harmony, rang out in the walls of that little brick church. All five generations can sing beautifully. The whole time held so much meaning and love was present throughout every thought that went into this little project.

They chose to have their images made into a pro book which we created together and they are now displayed in their homes for everyone to see. Someday, Kaybree, the littlest of the bunch will be the keeper of those books and, in those pages, will be priceless clippings of the day together and of the four generations before her that she had the blessing of knowing. What a gift.

Thank you, ladies, once again for letting me do this and for being the absolute best friends and most wonderful second family that a girl could ever ask for. I respect you and appreciate the loving, Christian example and companions that you have been for me over the past twenty-eight years.